It wasn't long ago that we were reporting on the City of Heroes petition exceeding the 18,000 mark. Well, today it was confirmed that the campaign to keep City of Heroes alive and the developers working, has managed to rack up more than 20,000 signatures. Unfortunately, it doesn't really change anything and the game is still scheduled to sleep in a grave next to other ill-treated pop-cultural media icons, including Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Tabular Rasa to name a few.

According to Massively [via VG 24/7] the petition over at Change.org officially surpassed the 20k mark and they're aiming for the final 4,800 in order to hit their goal of 25,000 signatures. I doubt that's going to be enough to change NCSoft's mind unless all 25,000 individuals decide to chuck $25,000 in with their signatures.

The campaign isn't just about signing your name on a digital protest against the shutdown of one of the most popular MMOs out there, though. There are also events, awareness groups and sub-groups helping to spread the news about keeping City of Heroes alive as an MMO, including posing for awesome pictures like the one above. A group of players even came together to send the devs at Paragon Studios out to dinner by donating $1,000 to the cause.

Now, here's where I segue into the horrible reality of an all digital future. I know NCSoft is a piss-poor example given that they'll kill a game faster than a zealot will riot over a religious-themed movie, but let's not forget that an all digital future will inevitably mean that games won't last. They'll only be around for lease for as long as a publisher feels it's a profitable venture. It doesn't matter how much time, energy or money you invest into the service, it's still only there temporarily and you'll never own it. It's just something to consider amongst all the talk for an “all free-to-play” future that some publishers have been whimsically throwing around like a hippie passing out condoms in a sex education class.

All right, enough of the tangents.

You want to help support City of Heores? Sign the petition at Change.org and make your voice heard. You want to kick up a fuss to keep NCSoft from shutting down your favorite MMO? Feel free to visit the Official Website and let your voice be heard on the official forums. You have up until the end of the year before it all goes kaput.